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Purchased my 02 STS with 33k miles on the odometer three months ago and so far it has spent a total of two weeks at the dealer. The original complaint was the 60 – 70 MPH shake. Replaced the rotors, solved the vibration problem.
Over the three months I have experienced the following:
1. Poor AM radio reception – Bad AM antenna modulator
2. Back-up Sensor failure
3. Broken motor mount – Dealer said this in common on STS/SLS
4. Replaced drivers seat motor
5. Replaced fuel pump
6. Replaced drivers window motor
7. Repaired loose center console
8. Replaced Passenger seat cushion.
My service manager showed me my cars warranty service history and my car had been in for service 10 times over the past three years for everything from fender alignment to suspension component replacement. It seems the original owner started having program with the car before it had been driven 1,000 miles.
It is shameful these cars have suffered through such inconsistent build quality. The engineering and design were cutting edge, I would blame the workmanship (American workers), but when the CEO of Toyota says “the best Toyota products in terms or quality are built in America”, this car leaves me scratching my head.
There is one thing that you NEVER do when you purchase a BRAND NEW vehicle. You do not ever drive it above 50 MPH on the highway until it has passed it's break in period of around 500 miles. This increases driveline wear, and premature wear of many of the other components of the vehicle.
I just bought a 2001 STS with 50,000 miles about two months ago, she has the gold package with custom rims and is BEAUTIFUL. This STS was traded in by a "BMW" person that didn't understand Cadillac's and was frustrated by several "small" issues so she traded the STS in for a BMW? OUCH, now she's in for some real $$$$$.
I saw the STS as I drove by this mom/pop BMW dealership and stopped in to inquire. After a test drive there was no doubt I was going to buy the car. There was however, a clinging sound in the back left strut and it had a clicking sound in the steering wheel. Being that this was going to be my 3rd cadillac, I know these cars (AND LOVE THEM) very well! Most of the time, the problems are easy to identify and fix... IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT MECHANIC (and not a dealer!!!). I have a local Cadillac certified mecanic that I have known for over the last 10 years and he has serviced all of my caddy's. I highly recommend to everyone to find a certified caddy shop and never take yours to just any mechanic. I had him take a look at it and he knew exactly the issues. I had both taken care of and it only set me back $275 which the mom/pop dealer took care of!!
I'm 33 years old and on my 3rd caddy. My 1st was a sedan Deville, 91, she was big, plush and a dream to drive. I had to upgrade to a 1995 STS, which I bought with 48,000 miles, I just sold her, in beautiful condition with 163,000 and has 100,000 miles left in her. My new 01 STS drives like a dream and I can tell she wants me to hit 5-6000 rpms! I'm sorry to hear that some of you out there have had bad experiences, but with the 3 I've had the last 10 years, I've been very satisfied.
My last word would be to recommend never taking your used STS to a dealer, try to find a shop that is Cadillac certified and works on older models. If you cannot find one, ask you local Cadillac dealer, they usually recommend older caddy's to local mechanics that are certified.
Hey I have a 2002 Cadillac STS bought it with a little over 18,000 miles on it. Had a 91 Cadillac Seville before this car which I lost due to a reckless driver. But first of all to those of you who have Cadillac Dealers telling you to turn the rotors, you need to find a new Cadillac dealership. Every one should know that you never turn a Cadillac's rotors. Also Cadillac just like BMW, and Mercedes need the stock tires or they will ride terrible. Oh to the people thinking of buying a Lincoln you might want to do some research in to their suspension system because they have had a terrible problem with them dropping to the ground with no return. Mercedes once used the same suspension system not sure if they still use this out problematic suspension system. But any time you purchase any car check the dealer out first and make sure there not stocking a lot of program cars, which are alway problems in most cases. I mean I've had my 2002 Cadillac almost 2 years now and the only problem I've had was a bad trunk seal which I accidentally cut pulling a box out the trunk, and Cadillac replaced cause it was still under warranty.
I own a 2002 STS, I am the original owner. I love my car, but I have had some problems. there is a "clunk" in the front end when turning, the dealer has never been able to figure it out. I have replaced the passenger side front wheel bearing and now have to do the driver side rear wheel bearing. I have lost both crank angle sensors, all 3 O2 sensors, and the fuel guage goes nuts when I get down to 1/2 a tank of gas. Again, I love this car, but will NEVER by another Cadillac.
I purchased a 2002 SLS this year with 65,000 miles. It vibrates in the 62-76 mph range; to Cadillac's credit I will state that the the former owner had after market rims and generic tires put on. Within a month of my purchase I had to replace engine heat sensors, the water pump, and the front engine mount. Within three months I had to replace both front wheel bearings. The driver's side heat warmer doesn't work; which I just found out this winter, and the heater-blower quit working two weeks ago. The car burns oil to the extent that I try to check the dip stick at every fill up, and I tend to have to add about a third of a quart every other fill up (I use Mobil Synthetic 5W-30). I now realize that this is a normal occurence for the North Star, but it doesn't make checking the oil any more convenient. The SLS gets approximately 24 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway which I am happy with, especially for such a large engine. It safe, accellerates well and looks nice. Although the car is used with 80,000 miles (at present), I just figured owning a Cadillac under a 100,000 miles meant minimal maintenance. After reading the seemingly common problems with this series I am seriously considering trading the vehicle in after Christmas. This is too bad because I really like the car's style and the nestalgia of owning a Cadillac, but I am increasingly hesitant to spend more money on repairs. On a final note, my father and grandfather have never had problems with their Devilles.
I purchased my BEAUTIFUL blue onyx 2002 Seville STS two months ago from a local Cadillac dealer. It had 56K miles and was a one owner vehicle (the previous owner bought a new Caddy). My previous vehicle was a 1998 Jeep Wrangler, so this was quite a change. I was looking at (and test drove) Saab's, Audi's and other foreign made cars before "falling" for the Caddy.
It is a fantastic piece of automotive technology. The vacuum fluorescent display is unlike any other car's "bland" instrument panel (the only one that even comes close is the display that was on my 2002 VW Golf). The award winning interior design is beautiful (the real wood trim is very elegant and doesn't look tacky like it does in some other cars). The exterior lines, high intensity headlamps, four tailpipe exhaust and the 17" chrome wheels make for a very sporty, but classy look.
I love all of the other technology in this car including the OnStar hands free phone (which I had upgraded at no cost to digital capable and enabled as part of my Verizon cell phone plan), the driver information center (DIC) and the stability and traction control. The 425 watt Bose stereo with the 6 CD changer (plus one CD in dash), XM radio and weather channel is incredible. This car was obviously ahead of it's time in '02 (I believe the Seville and Deville were the only cars available with factory installed XM radio for the 2002 model year).
The ride is very smooth, yet cornering is sports car crisp. The Northstar engine is unbelievable. At idle it is extremely smooth and quiet, but step on the pedal and it lights up with plenty of power. It does seem to use a couple of quarts of oil between changes, but that's only a small inconvenience for having such a wonderful engine.
Since I have no factory warranty (it was not GM certified and I just went over the dealer's used vehicle 3K mile warranty) I'm keeping my fingers crossed regarding the car's reliability.
So far the car has exceeded my expectations and I'm proud to own it.
"Award winning interior design"?
Proof please.
Even the Cadillac managers at GM admit the interiors are ugly (as reported in AutoWeek).
Cadillac may be good at some things, but interiors it is not.
January 6 2007.Ihave a 2002 sts and very satisfied with that car. I had a 1999 sts before and not dissapointed with it also. we should not forget all type and mark of car is all mechanic and we should inspect some inconvinence. thank you to take time to read my coment. Aubin Vienneau. Green Point. N.B. Canada. email adress. decor 3v@rogers.com.
Interior of the sts 98 04 is very nice.
2002 sts w/50,000. the interior of the car is beautoful and well designed. I am not too impressed with exterior, but overall it's a great car. it is my first cadillac and so far I am happy with it. I previously owned a mercury marauder which had the pick up, bu not the smooth ride.
OK, I found this article regarding the Seville's interior.
http://tinyurl.com/2yhzzg.
It references the 99 Seville, but I don't believe the designed changed much (if at all) in subsequent models including the 2002 Seville STS.
Personally I think it's awesome looking and very functional.
I purchased a 2002 STS in November from my local dealer. I think I got a great deal at $17,500 since it only had 31,000 miles on it. It is the exact color I was fantasizing about in 2002 when I purchased my wifes 2002 Denali from the very same dealer. I couldn't pull the trigger on 2 $50K cars at the same time and I am glad I waited and saved the 33k.
I want to add XM Radio without adding the after market, suction cup mounted devices from Best Buy. While the owners manual talks about the radio being XM equipped the dealer says it is not and I either have to change the factory unit or add the after market device. Does anyone know whether the factory Bose systems installed were all XM capable?
Love my 98 STS, but been having a weird problem. I start the car (turn key to start engine) then my dash goes crazy with a few lights (ABS, air bag, traction control). After that happens my stock Bose radio resets to 12 o'clock and I have no radio control. I also lose control of windows and sometimes my climate control. When I cut my car off (shut down engine) and put it in Accessory position, I get all functions back to normal. But the weird thing is it will happen for a few days, then months go by then and nothing happens.
I am absolutely shocked by some of these comments; either you expect entirely too much from a car or you bought a lemon. Guess what folks; every manufacturer makes lemons. Whomever made the comment about wanting one, but now has second thoughts due to what a few people on here say, is making a BIG mistake. Do you think Cadillacs are expensive to repair? Just wait until you have to take a Merc or a Bimmer into the shop. Do yourself a favor and browse through JD Power's archives. For a decade now, Cadillac have consistently ranked higher in dependability than Mercedes and BMW, and they have consistently ranked towards the top (usually beaten only by Buick and Lexus). Every car has it's quirks, but nothing, I repeat NOTHING drives like a Cadillac. I, for one, NEVER buy a brand new car and I think people who do are either suckers or completely wasteful. Buying a used car (in good condition) provides two big advantages. First; at three years, the car has already gone through most of it's depreciation which means you get it at a great price and the car will depreciate at a lesser rate afterwards. Second; a good used car at the three year mark has been well broken in and any big issues will have been ironed out by that point. Assuming that the car is a one owner with proper maintenance records, you can usually be assured that the car is running BETTER than when it came off the showroom floor. As for me; I have an '02 SLS, bought it used (of course), and have so far had 20,000 wonderful miles. The only problems have been the driver seat heater (I've come to the conclusion that the original owner was an overweight fellow) and a tail light (a few dollars, 10 minute fix). Other than that, just normal maintenance stuff. Yes, they burn oil, but that's the nature of a high performance engine. It (oil consumption) can be lessened by using regular "dinosaur" oil and by keeping the needle acquainted with the redline - these engines like to be driven hard, not coddled. Keep the factory rims; never use "low profile" tires. If they have the stock Goodyears, get a good set of Michelins; and when the time comes for new brakes, invest in a good set of ceramic pads. After all that, appreciate this car for what it is - a wonderful, performance luxury sedan that will hold it's own against the world's best. Just remember one thing - the only people who *need* to have a brand car do so only to placate their ego.